Sens vs. Americans 4/10/04 Articles: Tie puts Sens in playoffs; Binghamton not assured of fourth yet
April 11, 2004

Posted by: Bob Howard
Credit: Scott Lauber of Press Connects.com

Tie puts Sens in playoffs

Binghamton not assured of fourth yet

BY SCOTT LAUBER

Press & Sun-Bulletin

BINGHAMTON -- Under ordinary conditions, there is nothing sexy about a tie. But the conditions were hardly ordinary for the Binghamton Senators here Saturday night.

Entering their last regular-season game, the Senators were not guaranteed a playoff berth in the AHL's East Division, and the possibilities -- from finishing in fourth place and hosting the best-of-three qualifying round to missing the postseason altogether -- were too many to count.

So the Senators gladly took the point they earned in a 2-2 tie with the Rochester Americans, and thanks to the Hershey Bears' 3-1 victory over the Norfolk Admirals, were able to exhale and march straight into the Calder Cup playoffs.

"That was a big point for us," captain Chris Kelly said from a dressing room that's never been as jubilant after a stalemate. "We wanted to win and get two points, but we'll take a tie right now."

Right then, neither Kelly nor his teammates knew the identity of their first-round opponent, and they didn't much care. After an 80-game struggle to reach the postseason, getting in was all that mattered.

If Hershey beats the Philadelphia Phantoms at home tonight (the Bears are 0-10-1 in the season series between the teams), the Senators will finish in fifth place and travel to Chocolatetown for the qualifying round. If Hershey loses or ties, the Senators will finish fourth and host Norfolk in a three-game series that will begin Wednesday night.

"I don't care which team we play," center Serge Payer said. "Put it this way, if we play Hershey it's on the road, and if we play Norfolk it's at home. So I guess I'd rather play Norfolk, but only for that reason."

The Senators knew before overtime started that Norfolk had lost, so you could see the pressure from a must-win situation melting off their shoulder pads. They killed Kelly's two-minute high-sticking penalty, took two shots at Amerks goalie Ryan Miller and basked in the glory of their tie.

"We still kind of had to depend on someone else," said goalie Ray Emery, who made 22 saves, "but at least we guaranteed ourselves a chance to do some damage in the playoffs."

That guarantee was forged with a smarter, more disciplined performance than they put forth a night earlier against Norfolk in a 3-0 loss that put them in this predicament.

And it was forged with getting the lead, something they had not had at home in nearly 140 minutes and over parts of four games, when leading scorer Denis Hamel crashed the net and jammed his 29th goal of the season under Miller at 4:20.

That lead lasted less than five minutes. After Miller kicked aside Brad Tapper's shot off a two-on-one feed from Cory Pecker, Amerks winger Jason Pominville blasted a shot from the right circle that beat Emery to the glove side.

The Senators lost Tapper for the game -- and perhaps longer -- with 2:23 left in the period. Tapper, a target of other teams since he missed most of February with a concussion, took a hit from Rochester winger Steve Lingren and left the ice with smelling salts under his nose. There was no report on his condition, though it is possible he sustained another concussion.

"I haven't heard anything," said coach John Paddock, who thought Lingren's hit was clean. "We looked at the tape, and it really didn't look like anything. It looked like he collided with (Lingren)."

Charlie Stephens, like Tapper, gave the Senators' offense a jolt after he was acquired in January, and he gave them another lead at 10:22 of the second period. Going hard to the net with his stick on the ice, he redirected Hamel's shot over Miller, who had dropped into the butterfly.

Miller kept the Senators at bay with consecutive saves on Kelly and Cory Pecker, neither of whom could lift the puck over the goalie's pads, and with 29 seconds left in the period, Derek Roy slid his own rebound under Emery for the tying goal.

But Hershey's win, fueled by two goals from ex-Senators winger Chris Bala, meant the Senators could be content with 25 scoreless minutes.

A playoff spot was in the bag.

"That's our buddy," Kelly said. "As long as he shuts it down (tonight against Philadelphia), I'll have to give him a call and thank him."